Being an Alzheimer's caregiver is hard work that requires a lot of knowledge and many skills for getting along and for connecting with the person. Here are some tips to help you out on your caregiving journey:

1. Don't Be in Denial: It's only natural to be in denial when...

The nurses, aides, activity directors and other long-term care facility employees spend a tremendous amount of time with your loved one. They are the ones who help shower, dress and feed residents who need assistance with these tasks. They provide entertainment and arrange for socialization. Most importantly they strive to...

Embarrassing Behaviors

It isn't unusual for people with Alzheimer's to behave inappropriately in public at times. And often that leads to embarrassment for the caregiver.

For example, the person may become agitated and make scenes in public, causing people to stare. This could include behaviors such as arguing loudly with...

Let's face it. Caring for a person with Alzheimer's is hard work. You may have to deal with personality changes and difficult behaviors. You may be asked the same question over and over. You typically face issues with bathing, dressing and toileting. Your loved one may wander off if you...

I thought I was getting Alzheimer's. I really did. And how ironic would that be? I blog on the Huffington Post and Alzheimer's Reading Room about my experiences as an Alzheimer's caregiver for my Romanian life partner, Edward Theodoru. I make public presentations about the same topic. I even published...

Click here to read an original op-ed from the TED speaker who inspired this post and watch the TEDTalk below.

In Joshua Foer's TED video -- "Feats of Memory Anyone Can Do" -- we are taken into the little-known world of memory competitions. What's more surprising...

When we think about a person with Alzheimer's, we rarely think they could teach us anything about life, love or beauty. And in many cases, they don't.

I, however, was most fortunate. Ed, my beloved Romanian soul mate of 30 years, saw beauty in the staff at his long-term care...

Ed, my beloved Romanian soul mate of 30 years, was continuing to decline slowly and was becoming ever more difficult to get along with. I was at the end of my rope. I really was.

Desperate, in a last effort to save my sanity and the relationship, I invited my...

I wrote Come Back Early Today: A Memoir of Love, Alzheimer's and Joy as a love story. It's about the powerful 30-year relationship I had with Edward Theodoru, a delightfully colorful, wickedly eccentric Romanian gentleman and scholar.

My only purpose was to chronicle the relationship and share it with...

It is often said that animals and children reach dementia patients on a level people cannot. Every time Ed, my Romanian soul mate of 30 years, saw my little Shih Tzu, Peter, he said, "Oh, the lee-tle one. I love him so much."...

As Leeza Gibbons wrote in her book, "Take Your Oxygen First," "If you're caring for someone with Alzheimer's and you've never lost your temper with the person -- just wait. You will." To that I add: If you don't, then either you're a saint or you're...

I was a grant writer at the University of Cincinnati Department of Family Medicine from the time I was 28 until the time I was 57. After 29 years. I would have liked to retire but couldn't quite afford it.

Every year there were rumors that Congress was going...

In all the years before Alzheimer's struck, Ed, my Romanian life partner of 30 years, was always gallant and romantic. He was the quintessential old-school European gentleman, with impeccable and chivalrous manners. He was forever kissing the hands of ladies to...

If you have early Alzheimer's -- or if you simply have a bad memory -- it can impair your ability to do simple as well as complicated tasks. Here are 25 tips that will help you compensate for your declining memory.

1. Cook in the microwave rather than the...

The following story illustrates the fact that sometimes when Alzheimer's patients forget things it is a blessing.

Things had been calm and tranquil for a while, but for my life partner, Ed, the quarterly care conference brought bad news. His decline from Alzheimer's up to that point had been...

According to the Alzheimer's Association,

"Researchers have observed that having a parent or sibling with Alzheimer's disease does increase one's risk somewhat above the general population's risk of developing the disease. Some people with such family histories, and some without such histories, wish to have a genetic test...

Ice Cream in the Cupboard is a moving Alzheimer's memoir that tells the powerful story of Pat Moffett and his wife, Carmen, who developed Alzheimer' at the age of 53 -- dispelling the commonly held belief that Alzheimer's strikes only the elderly.

In the author's note, Moffett writes, "My...

At lunch with my best friend, Marsha, one day, I poured out my soul about the problems I was having with Ed, my beloved Romanian soul mate of 30 years. He had Alzheimer's and was living in a top-notch long-term care facility, the Alois Alzheimer Center in Cincinnati, which specialized...

Family members and friends of a terminally-ill loved one face many painful emotional issues. These include communicating the diagnosis to others; overcoming denial that the person is, in fact, near death; feeling the need to "be strong" and hide their sadness for the benefit of the patient and others; dealing...

Dr. Ruth Westheimer

"Somewhere inside me a fire burns to help people overcome their problems." So says the spirited, renowned sex and relationship therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, in her new book, Dr. Ruth's Guide for the Alzheimer's Caregiver: How to Care for...